1-1     By:  Hochberg (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini)            H.B. No. 3524
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2001;
 1-3     April 30, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Education; May 8, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote:
 1-5     Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 8, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to authorizing The University of Texas at Austin to
 1-9     establish a flat rate tuition pilot project for certain
1-10     undergraduate students.
1-11           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12           SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
1-13     amended by adding Section 54.069 to read as follows:
1-14           Sec. 54.069.  FLAT RATE TUITION PILOT PROJECT. (a)  In this
1-15     section, "tuition" means all academic program costs related to
1-16     enrollment in an academic course or degree program that are charged
1-17     to a student, including all charges designated as tuition,
1-18     mandatory fees, and incidental fees.  The term does not include
1-19     voluntary fees.
1-20           (b)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the
1-21     board of regents of The University of Texas System may establish a
1-22     pilot project at The University of Texas at Austin involving not
1-23     more than two colleges or degree programs designated by the board
1-24     of regents under which the university charges the same amount of
1-25     tuition to all undergraduate students enrolled in a college or
1-26     degree program included in the pilot project.
1-27           (c)  The board of regents may not require a full-time student
1-28     who pays tuition under the pilot project to pay more tuition than
1-29     the average amount of tuition that a student not included in the
1-30     pilot project would pay for enrolling in the university for 14
1-31     semester credit hours for the same semester or term.
1-32           (d)  The board of regents shall evaluate the effect of flat
1-33     rate tuition charged under the pilot project on the number of
1-34     semester credit hours taken by students included in the project
1-35     each semester.  The board shall report the results of the
1-36     evaluation to the legislature not later than December 31, 2002, and
1-37     December 31, 2004.
1-38           (e)  This section expires September 1, 2005.
1-39           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
1-40     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
1-41     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
1-42     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
1-43     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
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